How would you go about asking for a potential employer to pay for travel expenses and take it off from your first check?

Some of this is stage dependent and all of it is highly dependent on the team above the product manager. The simplest answer of course is to find PM's from companies who have had exemplary success where the Product Manager candidate either led prior success or was exposed to it in a meaningful way. A simple starting point is to ask them to give you examples of conflicting opinions on a feature and how they evaluated the conflicting opinions and made a decision and tracked the success or failure of that decision. AirBnb actually gives PM's homework as part of the interview process where they have to actually present a unique idea (from scratch) to the interviewing team. Happy to talk to you about best process based on your stage and existing team.

I'd recommend RecruiterBox as long as you can focus on filing one position at a time. It let's you accept up to 200 applicants for 1 position for free. http://recruiterbox.com/recruitment-software-pricing-with-free-signup/ Also, There are quite a few others out there most of which offer free 30 day trials or free access to their platforms with feature limits on them vs the company's paid offerings. Based on the way you phrased the question, this app should do the trick! Side note - if you're making use off Google apps - just create a form for submissions. It's always free.

You need to show them that you can solve their problems. The #1 mistake made by most applicants is that they keep talking about themselves: "here are my skills, here's what I've done, etc..." Instead of talking about yourself, talk about them: "You need someone who can jump right in; someone who can start working without making mistakes. You also don't have a lot of time for training. I can get started right away." This is going to require some research. Follow the founders / managers on Twitter. Read their blog posts. Scan their error logs (if they're public). Find out where you're *needed* and highlight that. Generally it's best to do this during the application process. If you've already sent in a cover letter and resume, it doesn't hurt to send a follow-up email that says: "I've been doing some research, and I think I've found some places I could be helpful."

Depending on what you need, you'll probably want to look at actual agencies. A single freelancer is unlikely to have the complete spectrum of skills you'll need, and unless you're looking to hire someone full-time, you'll probably have trouble retaining a single freelancer for a long period of time without conflicts. A mid-sized agency like the one I started (and later sold) specializes in designing and building sites. Their specialty is marketing and client acquisition, so they wouldn't be much help for the custom stuff later down the road — but that may not be an issue now. Another option may be to use a high-end development talent agency like http://www.10xmanagement.com/ — this company hires out very good developers, but you'll pay a premium. Like anything, you'll get what you pay for. Sometimes you'll get lucky on Elance, but you take on a lot of risk for the lower price. A mid-range agency has lower risk, but may lack full-stack capabilities. A high-range agency can solve all your problems, but you'll pay top dollar for it. I have a lot of experience screening and recruiting talent for projects in the mid-to-high range, so if you'd like to discuss strategies, let me know. Good luck!

Excellent question (and excellent answers here too). I'm 18 months into my start-up. That's 18 months of learning what is essential to survival and what is a waste of energy and space. Here is what is helping me most: 1. Communication essentials: Business cards (moo.com), laptop, phone, and Internet access. No explanation necessary. 2. Memberships in free or low-cost online media and networks (like this one). Online (in order): 1) Gmail, 2) LinkedIn (especially groups), 3) Meetup, 4) Twitter, 5) WordPress, 6) Constant Contact, 7) Facebook. Use these to find in-person opportunities to network and prospect. These tools are your lifeline to building an online presence, prospecting, and researching. Also vital: Testing your product or service idea. 3. Bookkeeper or good bookkeeping software. I cannot emphasize this enough. CASH IS YOUR BUSINESS. If you don't have a budget and cash flow projection, you don't have a business. Period. You MUST make this the heart of every activity and every day. If you suck at it, find someone who is good at it and spend the money to get them to help you. BONUS: Listen to podcasts like "Entrepreneur on Fire" and subscribe to free resources like Jeffery Gitomer's "Sales Caffeine." As a bonus, here is what took up space in my toolkit (now jettisoned): 1. Big bucks on a graphic design firm to do my marketing media. This is not for starting up; it's for later. Use free or low-cost design services or templates. You want to test your actual business idea first before investing thousands of dollars in a design company. 2. Apps, apps, and more apps. I went app crazy in the beginning, buying buckets full of "productivity" software. It ended up sucking up too much time and I settled on Evernote and Google Spreadsheets because they're familiar and they work for me. Big apps are for later. 3. Coffee meetings. OMG. I wasted hours and hours and hours having coffee with my "network," which amounted to a lot of people who could pat me on the back but who could neither buy from me nor refer any business. Affirmation is great, but too much of it will run your right out of business. Find a network of entrepreneurs in your community and spend more and more time with people who can buy from you. It's the only way to grow. I'm happy to visit with you from the trenches. Please give me a call if you like.